12/13/09

comparision: quick dry topcoats

Back in the day, the only thing that kept me from doing my nails frequently was the amount of time it took them to dry. Who had time to sit and wait for their nails to dry completely for 5 hours?

I didn't. But then I discovered quick drying topcoats. Cult favorites are Seche Vite and Poshe. You put them over wet polish and they are dry to the touch in a couple of minutes, and completely undentable in about an hour.

I've never tried Poshe, but Seche Vite was the first one that I tried.

I LOVED Seche Vite. It made my nail polish so shiny.

Then one day, I found out about Sally Hansen's Mega Shine topcoat on someone's blog. They said it was practically the same as Seche Vite, and my SV was running out and thickening like crazy, so I decided to give it a go.

I merely 'liked' Mega Shine. It seemed practically the same, but I really hate the brush and bottle. The brush is made up of these weird synthetic fibers that sometimes pick up the wet polish color. I absolutely hate the bottle because you can't see how much is left.. I had a bright idea and rubbed the side with pure acetone to remove the bottle coloring. It kind of worked.. the bottle is see through but murky.

Comparing them in regards to drying time, I prefer SV because I think it dries faster. Also, SV forms a thick, glossy coat over the polish (a must for gritty glitters!) while MS does not. I tried MS over China Glaze Atlantis and it felt as if it didn't even have a topcoat over it. Price-wise, Mega Shine costs about $7-8 dollars at drugstores, while Seche Vite cost me $5 at Sally Beauty Supply with a Sally's Card.

Here are pictures of manis with the different topcoats.


with Seche Vite


with Mega Shine

SV is just a touch shinier.
Overall, Seche Vite is my HG topcoat. I won't bother wasting my money on a different one again :)

11 comments:

  1. wow SV is shinier. i'm definitely gonna check it out!! thanks!

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  2. Thanks for this! I've been meaning to pick up a quick dry topcoat but I had no idea where to start. I'll definitely be checking out SV now!

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  3. Seche Vite is definetly HG for me. I have very thin, peely nails and before I discovered this I would paint my nails and use a topcoat from OPI and my nails were chipped by the end of the day. With SV my nail polish lasts a couple of days.

    Its definetly great stuff.

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  4. Oh yes, SV is amazing. But the bottle is far from perfect, when there's a quarter of SV left the brush barely touches the surface. And after refilling and using Restore a few times mine didn't dry properly any more.

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  5. Thanks guys! Cucumpear, I feel you... it's such a waste! I wish they would make the brush longer :(

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  6. SV is amaaaaazing. It's completely transformed the way I do my nails now :)
    xoxo

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  7. I've heard a lot about SV but I'm not close to any Sally Beauty Supply so it's so hard for me to get a hold of. I have the SH Mega Shine and my bottle is clear see through so I think they might have different packaging in Canada than US. I also have the Posche top coat which was almost $15 compared to my SH Mega Shine around $8.50. I found the Posche to be almost the same as SH Mega Shine so personally I'm staying with Mega Shine but would give SV a try after your review (if I can get my hands on it) ;)

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  8. I nominated you for an award on my blog :D

    And I just bought SV off ebay :) Looking forward to trying it out

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  9. Thanks everyone! Karen- try transdesign.com :)

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  10. What a coincidence! I JUST applied Seche Vite to my nails for the very first time, and I just happened to read your latest post about SV! :) I've only had SV on my nails for a few minutes and I'm already loving it. It's super shiny and makes my weak nails feel a little bit stronger.

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